Machine for binding shoe soles



July 20, 1954 C. E. ROGERS, JR

MACHINE FOR BINDING SHOE SOLES Filed Nov. 7, 1952 m w W 0563f? f.Raye/153d 1 his from Patented July 20, 1954 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICEMACHINE FOR BINDING SHOE SOLES Application November 7, 1952, Serial No.319,240

4 Claims. 1

The present invention is applicable to shoe sole sewing machines of thetype disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,169,909 grantedFebruary 1, 1916, upon an application of Fred Ashworth, and No.2,271,611, granted on February 3, 1942, upon an application of FredAshworth et a1. More particularly the invention relates to improvementsin a relatively wide angularly adjustable work support arranged forguiding an unattached outsole in flattened condition to the sewing pointin a machine of the type referred, to secure a binding strip to themarginal portions of the sole, the angular adjustment in the worksupport enabling a seam to be inserted with the threads of the stitchesexposed along lines closer to the edge of a sole at one side thereofthan at the other, for ornamental or other purposes.

In United States Letters Patent No. 2,334,299, granted November 16,1943, upon application of C. F. Whitaker, there is disclosed a machinehaving a relatively wide Work support for operating upon unattachedoutsoles in which the support is rigidly mounted and is angularlyadjustable about a horizontal axis extending in the direction of workfeed. That machine is provided with a guide for a feather edged weltwhich is directed by the guide into register with one edge of a shoesole being sewn. In sewing a feather edged welt to a shoe sole, it isimportant to insure accurate register of the sole and welt edges, theline of the seam being located as close as practicable to the edge ofthe sole. Accordingly, the mounting for the work support is constructedfor angular adjustment of the work support about an axis passing throughthe point of operation of the stitch forming devices, so that theexposed threads of stitches inserted in the work along the work engagingsurface of the work support will be maintained a uniform distance fromthe edge of the sole regardless of the angular adjustment. Cooperatingwith the work support to clamp the sole in sewing position is a presserfoot also arranged for angular adjustment about the seam axis.

In sewing a binding strip to the marginal portion of a sole member it isnecessary to comply with the same requirements so far as rigidity ofmounting and convenience of adjustment are concerned as are provided inthe construction of the patent, a relatively wide work support beingmounted for angular adjustment about a horizontal axis extending in thedirection of work feed. It has been found, however, that if the mountingfor the work support is arranged to swing about an axis passing throughthe point of sewing operations, as in the patented machine, andextending along the work engaging surface of the work support, that whenthe angle of inclination of the work support is extreme, the thicknessof the work through which the stitches are inserted is so increased thatchanges in the adjustment of the presser foot actuating mechanism aswell as in the angle of the presser foot have to be made. Adjustment ofthe presser foot actuating mechanism frequently is a time consumingoperation requiring special ability and care on the part of theoperator. It is found that f r insuring a rigid construction and forprovi ing convenient adaptability in the adjusting devices for sewing abinding strip, mounting means for the work support needs to be arrangedwith an axis of angular adjustment located along the work engagingsurface of the work support at some distance from the point of operationof the stitch forming devices in the machine. Also, it is desirable tosupport the sole against the thrust of the stitch forming devices asclose as possible to the sewing point defined by the intersection of thework engaging surface of the work support and the path of operation ofthe stitch forming devices so that a relatively flimsy binding strip maybe sewed effectively. To enable the sole to be supported as close aspossible to the paths of the stitch forming devices it is necessary, ina work support construction complying with these requirements, toprovide a work plate or slide having a needle receiving opening mountedon the work support and arranged for adjustment transverse to thedirection of work feed. In this way transverse adjustment of the workplate slide enables easy alinement of the needle opening with relationto the needle path whenever an angular adjustment is made in the worksupport. Furthermore, for guiding a binding strip to the sewing point itis desirable to make provison for independent adjustment between the twoedges of the strip as they are laid against opposite sides of the solemargin.

It is the purpose of the present invention to provide a sole sewingmachine of the type re ferred to with binding strip guide membersmeeting all of the requirements above indicated and including a uniqueconstruction readily adjust able to accommodate diiierent types of workwithout sacrifice in effectiveness of operation or in convenient serviceor repair and without the necessity of frequent change in adjustment ofthe presser foot mechanism. To these ends the invention comprises amachine of the type referred to including stitch forming, work clampingand feeding devices of the usual construction, the work support of whichhas guideways extending transversely to the direction of work feed andan adjustable mounting for the work support on which the inclination ofthe work engaging surface thereof may be changed about a horizontal axisspaced from the point of sewing operations, the said work support beingequipped with three slides in its guideways, one of which slides has aclose fitting needle opening, another of which has a channel fordirecting one edge of the binding strip, and the last of which is formedwith an upstanding arm offset across the needle opening slide in aposition above the channel slide with a guide hook for the other edge ofthe binding strip cooperating with the channel slide to insure propercontrol of the strip as it is being directed into the sewing point ofthe machine.

By providing a mounting for the work support on which the inclination ofthe work engaging surface of the work support may be changed about anaxis spaced from the point of sewing operations, the mounting may be soarranged that the increased thickness of the work caused by an increasedinclination of the work support will be compensated for by downwardmovement of the work support at the sewing point. In this way thediificulty in changing the adjustment of the presser foot actuatingmechanism upon adjustment in inclination of the presser foot is avoided.

These and other features of the invention, as hereinafter described andclaimed, will be apparent from following detailed specification taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view looking from the right front of aportion of a machine embodying the features of the present invention andillustrating the manner of operation on a sole member, broken away,while a binding strip is being sewn thereto;

Fig. 2 is a view in right side elevation on a reduced scale of theportions of the machine shown in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the upper binding strip guide slide.

The machine illustrated in the drawings is a curved hook needle shoeoutsole sewing machine and is arranged for binding and sewing themarginal portion of an unattached shoe sole member. The machine hasmounted within its frame 4 the usual stitch forming, work clamping andfeeding devices including the curved hook needle,

indicated at 6, a shuttle 8, a curved work feeding awl ID, a worksupport l2 and a presser foot 14. The work support is angularlyadjustable on the frame of the machine and for this purpose there issecured to the frame a mounting bracket [6 formed with a groove fittingan arouate rib IS on the work support l2 in the form of a plate, theupper surface of which is Wider and longerthan usual with this type ofmachine, an unattached outsole 20 being conveniently supported inflattened condition while a binding strip 22 is being applied to theedge thereof. By reason of the adjustable mounting l6, [8 the angle ofthe work support plate relatively to the paths of the needle and awl maybe changed about a horizontal axis running in the direction of work feedso that the exposed threads at opposite sides of the sole may be locatedat different distances from the sole edge, in accordance with acceptableshoemaking practices.

The features of the invention reside in an espe cially rigidconstruction which is readily accessible for adjusting purposes to meetthe demands of different shoemaking practices, it being desirable tochange from time to time the location of the exposed threads in a seamnot only with relation to opposite sides of a bound sole edge but alsoto change the width of the binding strip appearing on one side of thesole member. To

' these ends there is mounted upon the work support three separateslides 24, 26 and 28. The slides 24 and 28 are mounted in parallelguideways Stand 32 in the work support formed by a single base surfaceof a channel, with the guideway for the slide 24 including the leftvertical wall of the channel and the guideway for the slide 26 includingthe right vertical wall. For the slide 28 there is a guideway 34consisting of a recess having portions of its side walls runningparallel to the side walls of the guideways 3U, 32. Thus all of theguideways for the respective adjusting slides are arranged in parallelrelation and extend transversely to the direction of work feed.

The slide 26 has an opening 36 in the form of a slot extending in thedirection of work feed of sufficiently narrow width to fit closely withthe sides of the needle and awl while engaging the work. The presserfoot [4 also is provided with a similar needle and awl receiving opening38 disposed in alinement with the opening 36 in the slide 26. For bestresults in sewing, the slide 26 and the presser foot M are adjusted tobring their needle receiving openings into alinement with the paths ofthe needle and awl represented by the dot-dash lines of Fig. 1. Byproviding the slide 26 in the central guideway of the work support l2,the needle opening 36 may be adjusted transversely of the seam line. Toadjust the inclination of the work support 12 on its mounting bracket 16accordingly, the groove in the bracket 16 and the rib 18 may be providedwith a curvature having an axis located at the forward side of theneedle and awl path substantially in front of the point of sewingoperations in the machine. In so doing, the point of intersection of theneedle and awlpath with the work engaging surface of the work supportmoves downwardly when the forward edge of the work support is inclinedupwardly. Accordingly any increase in thickness of the work caused byinclination of the work support is compensated for by downward movementof the work support at the point of sewing operations. For this reasonit is unnecessary to adjust the presser foot I4, as will be explainedfurther, or its actuating mechanism. Such arrangement is of particularadvantage in sewing a binding strip to the edge of the sole member 24'and is also useful with other types of work including the sewing of afeather edged welt such as disclosed in the Whitaker patent.

In mounting the needle opening slide 26 in the central guideway of thework support, the location of a binding strip guide has been renderedsomewhat diificult particularly where independent adjustment of theguide at opposite edges of the binding strip is desired. To overcomethis difficulty the two outside slides 24 and 28 are employed forguiding the binding strip, and the slide 24 is formed with an upstandingarm extending in offset relation to its shank across the needle openingslide into a position above the slide 28.

The slide 28 is secured in adjusted relation to its guideway in the worksupport by a pair of clamp screws 40 entering slots at the ends of theslide and engaging shoulders at the lower portions of the slots. Thescrews 40 are threaded into the work support so that they assist inguiding the slide 213 in its movement transverse to the direction ofwork feed. For guiding the lower edge of the binding strip the slide 28has a channel 32 out along one edge and formed with its lower surface 44level with the work engaging surface of the work support and with aflange 5 above the channel to prevent lateral displacement of the edgeof the binding strip carried by the channel while moving from thechannel toward the work engaging surface of the work support. The flangeextends in the direction of work feed into close proximity to the needleopening slide 3t so as to prevent the sole member being sewn fromcontacting the binding strip along the channel engaging edge of thestrip until the sewing point is reached. Thus the sole member may beturned and shifted with relation to the binding strip according to thevarying curvatures of its edge without disturbing the guiding action ofthe channel slide 23.

The left hand slide 24 at the upper end of its offset arm is providedwith a guide hook 46 disposed directly above the channel in the slide 28so as to cooperate with the channel in directing the binding strip intothe sewing point. The forward edge of the guiding hook to is recessed toengage the upper edge of the binding strip and is located in advance ofthe presser foot l4, these slides t and 28 being independentlyadjustable to accommodate the full width of the strip with the locationsof the exposed threads in a seam being inserted whenever the inclinationof the work support is changed.

To assist in clamping the work securely at the sewing point as closelyas possible to the paths of the needle and awl, the presser foot It hasits forward edge rounded to give the greater bearing area on the uppersurface of the work whenever the work support is adjusted with a steepinclination. With this arrangement, the presser foot may remain in fixedrelation to the needle and awl paths whenever the angle of the worksupport is adjusted. The only change required in adjusting theinclination of the work support is in the position of the needle openingslide 26. To secure the slides 24 and 26 in adjusted positions they areprovided with threaded openings at their forward ends through which passa pair of clamp screws A8 and 50. The screws 48 and 50 extend throughclearance slots extending in the direction of the guideways of the worksupport and act upon the side edges of the slots to hold theirrespective slides in adjusted positions.

The nature and scope of the invention having been indicated and aparticular embodiment having been described, what is claimed is:

l. A machine for binding and sewing the marginal portion of a solemember, said machine having a main frame, stitch forming and workclamping and feeding devices in the frame ineluding a needle, 2, worksupport having guideways extending transversely to the direction of workfeed, and an adjustable mounting in the frame for the work support aboutwhich the inclination of the work engaging surface of the work supportmay be adjusted with relation to the needle, in combination with a slidein one of the guideways of the Work support having an opening for theneedle, a second slide in another guideway of the work support having achannel for one edge of a binding strip, and a third slide 6': inanother guideway of the work support formed with an upstanding armoffset across the needle opening slide into a position above the channelslide and having a guide hook for the other edge of the binding strip.

2. A machine for binding and sewing the mar ginal portion of a solemember, said machine having a main frame, stitch forming and workclamping and feeding devices in the frame including a needle, a worksupport having guideways extending transversely to the direction of workfeed, and an adjustable mounting in the frame for the work support aboutwhich the inclination of the work engaging surface of the work supportmay be adjusted with relation to the needle, in combination with a slidein one of the guideways of the work support having an opening for theneedle, a second slide in another guideway of the work support having achannel for one edge of a binding strip, a third slide in anotherguideway of the work support formed with an upstanding arm offset acrossthe needle opening slide into a position above the channel slide andhaving a guide hook for the other edge of the binding strip, andseparate clamping devices for securing therespective slides in ad justedpositions in their guideways.

3. A machine for binding and sewing the marginal portion of a solemember, said machine having a main frame, stitch forming and workclamping and feeding devices in the frame including a needle, a worksupport having guideways extending transversely to the direction of workfeed, and an adjustable mounting in the frame for the work support aboutwhich the inclination of the work engaging surface of the work supportmay be adjusted with relation to the needle, in combination with a slidein one of the guideways of the work support having an opening for theneedle, a second slide in another guideway of the work support having achannel for one edge of a binding strip, a third slide in anotherguideway of the work support formed with an upstanding arm offset acrossthe needle opening slide into a position above the channel slide andhaving a guide hook for the other edge of the binding strip, andseparate clamping devices for securing the respective slides in adjustedpositions in their guideways, the channel in the slide being formed witha surface level with the work engaging surface of the work support toprevent lateral displacement of the binding strip edge carried by thechannel while moving from the channel toward the work engaging surfaceof the work 4. support.

4. A machine for binding and sewing the marginal portion of a solemember, said machine having a main frame, stitch forming and workclamping and feeding devices in the frame including a needle, a worksupport having guideways extending transversely to the direction of workfeed and an adjustable mounting in the frame for the work support aboutwhich the inclination of the work engaging surface of the work supportmay be changed with relation to the needle, in combination with a slidein one of the guideways of the Work support having an opening for theneedle, another slide in a guideway of the work support formed with anupstanding arm offset across the needle opening slide, and having aguide hook for one end of the binding strip, and an additional slide inanother guideway of the work support having a channel for one edge of abinding strip, the last-mentioned slide being formed above the channelwith 7 a surface level with the work engaging surface of the worksupport to prevent lateral displacement of the binding strip edgecarried by the channel while moving from the channel toward the workengaging surface of the work support, and a flange extending into closeproximity to the needle opening slide to prevent a sole member beingsewn from contacting the binding strip along the channel engaging edgeof the strip until the sewing point is reached.

References Cited in the file of this patent Number 5 112,019 2,334,2992,505,158

UNITED STATES PATENTS

